Central

'60,000 drivers' multitask

A charity has revealed that 60,000 drivers in the Midlands have points for using mobile phones whilst driving and other distractions. A campaign launched today aims at preventing crashes caused by multitasking at the wheel.

Live updates

The road safety charity Brake says drivers who try to multi-task while at the wheel are putting lives at risk. It is calling on mobile phone users to turn them off or put them in the boot when they are driving.

The charity has revealed that 60,000 drivers in the Midlands have points for using mobile phones while driving and other distractions.

Joe Burns from the charity says drivers should keep their phones switched off and out of sight.

Road safety charity Brake has revealed that 60,000 drivers in the Midlands have points for using mobile phones whilst driving and other distractions.

Lorna Kermode, the daughter of Paul Collins from Warwickshire who was killed on his way to a family Christmas dinner in December 2011 said: "We're trying to make people realise that you're driving a vehicle that is very dangerous if you aren't concentrating properly.

"Even talking to someone in the car takes your attention away from the road and we want people to be aware that other people are on the road and you must be aware of them. You must be aware and in control of your vehicle."

Advertisement

Ellie Pearson, senior campaigns officer, Brake, the road safety charity, said more and more of us have smartphone and "find it hard to switch off".

She added that the smartphone culture was "posing dangerous temptations to drivers".

We're living in an age when being constantly connected is the norm; more and more of us have smartphones, and find it hard to switch off, even for a minute. While there are enormous benefits to this new technology, it's also posing dangerous temptations to drivers to divert their concentration away from the critical task at hand, often putting our most vulnerable road users in danger.

Many people who wouldn't dream of drink-driving are succumbing to using their phone and other distractions while driving, oblivious that the effect can be similar and the consequences just as horrific. We're calling on drivers in the Midlands to tune into road safety: turn off your phone or put it in the boot, and never try to multi-task at the wheel. We're also appealing to everyone to refuse to chat to someone on the phone who's driving, to help them arrive safely.